East Coast Music Awards Recap

From May 2nd-6th, we hung out in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the East Coast Music Awards. The ECMA Festival and Conference is now a five-day, non-stop musical celebration showcasing and recognizing the best of East Coast artists and music. The internationally recognized event gathers Canadian musicians from the East Coast, music industry professionals, and music fans to learn from the industry's most respected players and watch some of the country's brightest rising stars. This year, we presented the award for Electronic Recording of the Year, and had the chance to interview the five incredible nominees and watch them perform during…

Jimi Hendrix ‘Voodoo Child (Slight Return)’ Tone Dissected

Voodoo Child (Slight Return) is the final track on the 3rd (and, unfortunately final) 1968 studio album, Electric Ladyland, by the legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. From the classic rocking wah fade-in, to the explosion of the whole band entering the riff, this is the sound of a guitar amplifier at full tilt! The classic fuzz…

Drum Tech Tutorial: Customizing Kits on the TD-50

Recording live acoustic drums can be difficult. Throw in a full band and multiple vocalists and your simple off-the-floor recording gets much more complicated. Bobby James (DRUMNDIRTY) walks you through how he modeled the TD-50 V-Drums to sound like the Calvary Worship Centre’s original acoustic drum kit. The electronic V-Drums gave this church band more…

Creating Beats for Dance Styles with the DJ-808

In this article, we’ll show you how to create some typical breaks on the Roland DJ-808 DJ Controller. Whether you play House, Drum and Bass, Trap or Electro, you can use the TR-S on the DJ-808 to incorporate live drum elements into your mix and make your sets stand out from the crowd. The videos…

Roland TB-03 and TR-09: A Classic Pair Resurrected

In the past few years we have seen a huge resurgence in both analog and digital hardware. Eurorack modular synthesizer systems have exploded in popularity and vintage synth prices have skyrocketed. The tactile experience of using hardware instruments is drawing artists back to tabletops filled with drum machines and synthesizers. The original Roland TB-303…

A Deeper Look at the Roland SYSTEM-8 PLUG-OUT Synthesizer

The Roland SYSTEM-8 PLUG-OUT Synthesizer, with its large variety of sound design capabilities, can be used for many different roles in live performance situations and studio set ups. The multitimbral nature of it allows musicians to design layered patches or to be inventive with keyboard splits as well as separate sequencers for each part. The…

GUIDE TO USING THE ROLAND DJ-808 WITH SERATO DJ

The Roland DJ-808 is an exceptionally powerful DJ performance instrument. Featuring an onboard TR sequencer, low latency platters and AIRA Link, the DJ-808 is set to truly take live DJ performances to the next level. However, the DJ-808 is only half of the equation. Without understanding Serato DJ software, you won’t be getting the most…

HOW TO INTEGRATE MULTIPLE DEVICES ON YOUR MAC

Often when using Roland AIRA gear in the studio, the best way to incorporate it into your setup is to use the built-in audio and MIDI interface. However, what if you have another interface that you’re using for your mic input and have it connected to your monitors? Or what if you have multiple AIRA…

ES-8 Effects Switcher and DD-500 Delay Explained by Guitarist Sef

Sef, the lead guitarist for the Canadian alternative band, Your Favourite Enemies, is a pedal fanatic. His board is loaded with a massive selection of stompboxes, which he blends together in highly creative ways to craft his diverse guitar textures. Sef recently replaced a simpler effects switcher with the BOSS ES-8, and he was blown away by all the amazing things he…

How to Order Your Effects Chain: It’s Easy With Multi Effects

So you’re a beginner electric guitar player, you’ve found a guitar and an amplifier that you like. They sound great together but now you really want to wail like David Gilmour, play with delay like The Edge or dream up your own signature tone. Just your guitar and amp won’t cut it; the next step…

Ultimate Guide: AIRA TR-8 Rhythm Performer

The AIRA TR-8 is the next step in the evolution of Roland TR- drum machines. This ultimate guide has everything you need to know about the TR-8! Unleashed upon an unsuspecting world in the 1980s, the TR-808 and TR-909 produce arguably the most influential drum sounds in modern music. Not only have they appeared on…